


the sun rises back home

by goodmorningbeloved



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Dogs, Drabble, Established Relationship, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Tony misses Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 17:32:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15562872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodmorningbeloved/pseuds/goodmorningbeloved
Summary: “Now, how’d a big guy like you get all the way in here, huh?” Tony doesn’t have to bend down too far to run his finger through soft golden fur. It’s not that the tower is built to actively keep out strays - Tony knows Bruce and Natasha take turns nursing stray cats that come around - but dogs this size don’t usually manage to squeeze past the back gates, especially one that looks bigger than the standard golden retriever.





	the sun rises back home

**Author's Note:**

> this was meant to be a drabble to get me out of my writing funk, but it turned out a little longer. it still kinda feels drabble-y though, so i'm tagging it like that
> 
> Cap is open to interpretation here - i couldn't decide what i liked more, tony befriending a dog that reminds him of steve while he's missing steve, or steve getting magicked into a dog and being unable to do anything about it, but deciding he wants to come home to tony anyway to wait out the effects with him. maybe one day i'll write a follow up, but i was hugging my dog last night and i was overcome with a lot of Love, okay, and then this just happened :~(
> 
> here's [cap](https://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images24/GoldenRetrieverPurebredDogPortia2.jpg)!! the title's a modified line from 1d's "don't forget where you belong"

There’s a dog pawing at one of the back entrances of the tower. Clint, Nat, and Steve are out on SHIELD orders, Thor is attending an awarding ceremony for Jane, and Bruce is out of state for a medical conference, so the full force of the fully grown golden retriever’s  _puppy eyes_  lands on Tony entirely.

He’s impressed he manages to last two seconds. “Now, how’d a big guy like you get all the way in here, huh?” Tony doesn’t have to bend down too far to run his finger through soft golden fur. It’s not that the tower is built to actively keep out straysstrays - Tony knows Bruce and Natasha take turns nursing stray cats that come around - but dogs this size don’t usually manage to squeeze past the back gates, especially when one that looks bigger than the standard golden retriever.

The retriever gives an emphatic little whine, knocking its snout into Tony’s palm firmly for more pets, only to apparently decide it’s not enough and nuzzle Tony’s calf instead. Tony’s happy to indulge because he’s always wanted a dog but never had the right schedule to take care of one, and because how can he possibly refuse those eyes?

The retriever senses weakness. It whines again, tail wagging loftily, and then it wiggles through Tony’s legs entirely and tromps into the kitchen, heading straight for the lower drawer by the sink where they keep Lucky’s (excessive) supply of kibble. There, it paws emphatically at the drawer and looks back at Tony beseechingly.

“You know what you want, don’t you?” Tony chuckles, closing the door and following it back in. Sure - the tower’s pretty quiet tonight, and it’s always a little lonely without Steve. He can check the surrounding area for any missing dog notices, although the lack of a collar or a tag on this one is suspicious. If they purposely set it free with no intentions of welcoming it back, Tony would be more than happy to give it a better home. Steve will get a real kick out of it, he thinks. His lover’s always been a dog person.

Tony feeds the dog, then ends up bathing the dog. He’s only ever seen Clint bathe Lucky and knows better than to expect to come out of it with his clothes dry, yet the retriever is surprisingly docile, allowing Tony to clean out its fur and afterwards waiting, head perched on the edge of the bathtub, for Tony to bring in a clean towel.

Dogs take forever to dry, he learns. The retriever doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of shaking the water out of its fur - or at least, Tony doesn’t  _think_ it does. When he ends up trying to demonstrate by shaking out his own hair, the dog gives another whine that sounds suspiciously happier. “Hilarious, huh?” Tony says. He is rewarded with a damp-but-somehow-affectionate paw to the forehead, and then what feels like a hundred-something pounds of wet dog bowling him over as it unceremoniously clambers out of the bathtub and trots towards Steve’s bedroom.

“Ah, ah, let’s not do that.” Tony manages to stop it in time, though it whines again and fights him weakly. “He’s probably already hung up at SHIELD, we don’t need to welcome him back with a bed smelling of wet dog.” Not that Steve’s slept in his bedroom ever since they started dating a year ago, but it’s just common courtesy.

The retriever huffs and chooses that moment to shake its fur out. “Ah, damn it,” Tony says mournfully when he’s thoroughly soaked, and then he nudges the dog into his own room. It looks hesitant there, pausing by the doorway, but Tony coaxes it in with the warm fluffy towel, and it’s not long before it settles on his bed.

“You’re not staying here,” Tony chides mildly. The dog snorts and curls up right there on his bed, over the growing wet spot on the towel. Yeah, it’s right, Tony won’t have the strength to actually make it leave.

Deciding he can wait until it’s dry and then change the sheets before going to bed, he settles in at his desk for some work. About five minutes pass, and then hears a soft  _thwump_ and then the retriever nosing under his desk, ditching the towel so it could lay on his feet instead. “My feet are not eggs for you to incubate,” Tony says. The dog says nothing, still damp and bodily pressing against the bottom edges of Tony’s Captain America pajamas pants. Tony sighs at the sight, then leans down a little to scratch it behind the ear. He must miss Steve more than usual if he’s looking to a dog for similarities. “We really need to get you home, Cap,” he murmurs, the nickname slipping out naturally. The retriever lifts his head, whines plaintively. He settles back down on Tony’s feet. “Tomorrow, okay? Your family’s probably missing you.”

An hour later, Cap’s fur is dry, Tony’s eyes are heavy, and Steve still isn’t home. It wouldn’t be the first time a mission went on longer than necessary, and he knows Steve can certainly take care of himself, but Tony…worries anyway. Misses him.

He forgets about the sheets and his damp pajamas and crawls into bed, unsurprised that the dog bounds up after him. JARVIS turns off the lights for them. Given how the night’s been going, Tony expects the dog to splay himself right over Tony’s legs again too, but he curls up at the foot of Tony’s bed instead. Tony shifts so he can feel Cap’s back along his ankle; he hears Cap give a small huff of breath, then settle. It seems he’s as tired as Tony is.

Steve and the others still aren’t back by the next day, or the next. On the third, Thor returns with Jane, who spends the night before she has to catch the next flight out. On the evening of the fourth, he gets an alert that Steve, Natasha, and Clint have checked back in with SHIELD, but that the spy duo are heading straight to Bulgaria for a follow-up assignment. Steve makes no return either, so Tony figures he’s gotten caught up with debriefing paperwork again. On the sixth day, Tony helps Bruce lug his suitcases back into the elevator. Tony teases him for the tan he’s started to take on. Bruce tells him he’s impressed the lab’s still in one piece.

Of course it is, Tony replies, doesn’t Bruce know half the fire hazards are caused by Steve distracting him?

They adore Cap. Cap adores them back, and he'll probably adore the others too when they return, but he seems to have taken a liking to Tony specifically; Tony’s lap is never empty during movie nights. But his hand is, and so is the space next to him where he’s used to having Steve, and by the second week he’s starting to feel the familiar heaviness of missing someone.

Cap helps. He stays with Tony during late nights in the workshop, even takes to scratching at the doors whenever it gets too late. He's unerringly good about remembering to eat, and so Tony ends up just eating with him for quite a few meals. He gives Tony a reason to go outside too, and Tony finds himself spending more time at Central Park that week than he ever has in his life. Cap loves the bounding across the open grass, then slumping, thoroughly exhausted, with Tony by a particular spot of trees.

It's Steve's favorite spot to sketch and to laze around when he and Tony have no world-saving to do. Tony thinks he'll love it even more when he comes back and they can take Cap out here together.

Nat calls once to check in and tell them they'll probably be on field for another week or so.

"Figures," Tony says, pretending to sigh over the line. "Bring me back a souvenir?"

"A bumper sticker for the suit," Natasha replies without hesitating. "You doing okay? Thor mentioned Lucky's gonna come back to find a new friend."

"They'll get along like house on fire," Tony assures, thinking of Cap's near-endless energy. "And I'm fine," he says for her question, and he does partly mean it, so it's not a lie.

Natasha knows him a little better. "He's missed you too," she says after a pause. Her voice has gone soft, and a little careful.

Steve must be busy with something important if he's not the one calling. Tony tells them to do a good job avenging before he has to go take Cap for his evening walk. It's a little humid out, but it's peaceful, and Cap's tail occasionally brushes against the side of his leg as they trace the block.

By the end of the second week, he’s grown accustomed to waking up curled around Cap’s warm, soft fur. He’d put out a found-dog notice on that second day (even though Cap had grumbled and tugged at his pants leg the whole time), but no one’s called to claim their lost dog yet.

It’s just as well. He - they - can be Cap's new home. Whoever didn't want him was an idiot.

“Morning, Cap,” Tony mumbles, earning a little jolt from the retriever. He pats over his suddenly-alert ears until Cap reluctantly lowers his head again, and Tony relaxes back into the bed and yawns, “JARVIS, is Steve home yet?” for the second week in a row.

“Captain Rogers has yet to return,” JARVIS answers politely.

“Mmhm.” Tony closes his eyes. Disappointment’s a little easier to feel in the morning, when his brain still shrouded in a fog of sleep. He hopes SHIELD doesn’t keep Steve out for another month-long mission; the man needs his rest just like the rest of them, if not more.

Something nudges his hand. Cap’s there, trying to nose under his palm for some scratches.

“Morning.” Tony looks down with a sleepy smile, scratching him behind the ears where he's learned Cap likes. “Hi. ‘Least you’re here with me, huh?”

Cap whines.

“Yeah, yeah, I miss ‘im.” Tony exhales quietly and sinks a little deeper into the pillows but doesn’t stop scratching Cap’s fur in slow motions. He’s probably made it plenty evident, given how many times he’s found himself rambling idly about Steve to his newfound companion. It helps that Cap always looks like he’s listening, patient. “Sometimes I worry,” Tony continues with a small frown. “That big lug always thinks he’s invincible, y’know? Someone’s gotta.”

His scratching turns into petting. He’s starting to doze off again from the rhythmic motion.

“I can’t lose him before I get to tell him I love him,” Tony sighs, his eyelids drooping. “Not allowed.”

He feels Cap tense under his hand.

“Oh, s’fine, he promised he’d always come home. God helps anyone who tries to get him to break one of his promises,” Tony says with a fond little smile. He continues to stroke Cap, but eventually Cap turns restless and moves further up the bed. Tony is given several kisses to the side of his face (which he laughs at and thoroughly leans into), but Cap only whines and trots around his head so he can curl up by Tony’s head instead, budging his snout against the back of Tony’s neck.

“But maybe I’ll tell him this time, hm?” Tony murmurs. “ ‘fore it’s too late.”

Cap bumps his nose into the back of his neck again, maybe in encouragement.

“Yeah,” Tony agrees, closing his eyes and nodding to himself with a sigh. “When he comes home.”


End file.
